Cars 2: It stinks!

[Devil]

You guys are serious about your cartoons.

(For myself...didn't see the first one, won't see the second. Both sound too childish for me).

Sounds like a guy with no kids.

[Bob]

Saw it this weekend with 3 boys.  11, 9, and 6.   The 9 year old is special needs and used to be a Cars addict.  Now he doesn't seem to care for it that much.  He prefers his Hot Wheels DVDs.

11 loved it.  6 year old thought it was ok and that the ending was "stupid".  Special needs 9 year old spent the whole time trying to get away and then playing with my cell phone.

So.. 1 thumbs up, 1 thumb horizontal, and 1 thumb down.

Agreement that this is Pixar's weakest property.  But things like the Incredibles and Ratatouille just don't generate the same kind of cross market revenue. There is no end to Cars' merchandising.

[Sarkus]

Transformers 2 did $108 mil its first weekend.  There is not always a direct correlation between a movies quality and its 1st week numbers.  

But from a business perspective who cares?  Somebody is going to these movies and from Hollywood's perspective making money is more important then what Metacritic thinks.

The biggest movies of the year mostly have pretty bad Metacritic scores.  That's why I say there is a disconnect.  Hangover 2 (44) has made over $500m worldwide, Pirates (45) is at nearly $1b already, Fast Five (67) at nearly $600m.  Cars 2's 58 score is above average by that metric. But who gives a fuck what the critics say when you are taking in that kind of money?  And those are not just "big opening weekend" type numbers - Hangover 2 has made more money since its opening then it did the first weekend.  

[TheEgoWhip]

Saw it this weekend with 3 boys.  11, 9, and 6.   The 9 year old is special needs and used to be a Cars addict.  Now he doesn't seem to care for it that much.  He prefers his Hot Wheels DVDs.

11 loved it.  6 year old thought it was ok and that the ending was "stupid".  Special needs 9 year old spent the whole time trying to get away and then playing with my cell phone.

So.. 1 thumbs up, 1 thumb horizontal, and 1 thumb down.

Agreement that this is Pixar's weakest property.  But things like the Incredibles and Ratatouille just don't generate the same kind of cross market revenue. There is no end to Cars' merchandising.

My 5yr old liked it, but the 2yr old got bored after an hour and started trying to play with him so he lost focus at the end.  I watched it, wasn't too bad, but since I know that once it's on dvd I will see it 100 times, I reserve the right to change my mind about that.

[Rowdy]

Biggest problem with Cars 2 is that Pixar took a franchise that appeals to 4 - 10 year olds and added cars with guns, cars with missile launchers, cars with tasers, beloved character cars with bombs strapped to them.  Explosions!  It's like Michael Bay consulted on the movie.  Cars are frequently given orders to kill other cars.  A car is 'tortured' prior to being 'killed'.  It's completely jarring, and so completely, totally off tune from the first Cars movie.  WTF, Pixar?  My family and I love your movies because they're child-like and innocent.  Who's idea was it to think James Bond was a really a good fit with the Cars universe? 

The first comments from my 7 and 9 year olds mouths were "that was weird".  My 7 year old wanted to know why they put guns on Tow-Mater, when he's a tow truck, he's supposed to help people.  My 9 year old was frustrated that they kept cutting away from the race scenes, that he was interested in, to focus on spies and secret agents and 'action' scenes. 

I've watched Cars and listened to Cars playing on the DVD player in the van about a thousand times, and I still sometimes get misty when Lightning stops, loses the race, and goes back to get the King.  It's a movie with a moral center and a good message.  It may be simplistic in many ways, but it's got emotions, some genuine laughs, and a heart.  I think I laughed once in Cars 2, and at no point was I in any remote way moved by anything going on on-screen.  Cars 2 is the first Pixar movie that just seems to be about money, and the first Pixar movie I won't be buying on DVD.

[Rumpy]

I get the impression more and more that this should have been a straight-to-video release, which is amazing when you consider that Pixar at one time thought that Toy Story 2 would be going straight-to-dvd.

[Bullwinkle]

Biggest problem with Cars 2 is that Pixar took a franchise that appeals to 4 - 10 year olds and added cars with guns, cars with missile launchers, cars with tasers, beloved character cars with bombs strapped to them.  Explosions!  It's like Michael Bay consulted on the movie.  Cars are frequently given orders to kill other cars.  A car is 'tortured' prior to being 'killed'.  It's completely jarring, and so completely, totally off tune from the first Cars movie.  WTF, Pixar?  My family and I love your movies because they're child-like and innocent.  Who's idea was it to think James Bond was a really a good fit with the Cars universe? 

The first comments from my 7 and 9 year olds mouths were "that was weird".  My 7 year old wanted to know why they put guns on Tow-Mater, when he's a tow truck, he's supposed to help people.  My 9 year old was frustrated that they kept cutting away from the race scenes, that he was interested in, to focus on spies and secret agents and 'action' scenes. 

I've watched Cars and listened to Cars playing on the DVD player in the van about a thousand times, and I still sometimes get misty when Lightning stops, loses the race, and goes back to get the King.  It's a movie with a moral center and a good message.  It may be simplistic in many ways, but it's got emotions, some genuine laughs, and a heart.  I think I laughed once in Cars 2, and at no point was I in any remote way moved by anything going on on-screen.  Cars 2 is the first Pixar movie that just seems to be about money, and the first Pixar movie I won't be buying on DVD.

Now, see, everything you describe is what made Cars 2 look interesting to me (on paper, anyway).  I thought the world of spies was a great way to avoid a story rehash and add some excitement to an otherwise drab scenario.  To me it seemed a perfect fit.  I didn't find the racing stuff interesting at all in the first movie.  It was only when they started really getting into the meat of the death of old time Americana that it started getting interesting, IMO.

I'm not saying I wanted a Micheal Bay dumbed down experience, but a Pixar movie with that level of excitement could be really great.

[Rowdy]

Biggest problem with Cars 2 is that Pixar took a franchise that appeals to 4 - 10 year olds and added cars with guns, cars with missile launchers, cars with tasers, beloved character cars with bombs strapped to them.  Explosions!  It's like Michael Bay consulted on the movie.  Cars are frequently given orders to kill other cars.  A car is 'tortured' prior to being 'killed'.  It's completely jarring, and so completely, totally off tune from the first Cars movie.  WTF, Pixar?  My family and I love your movies because they're child-like and innocent.  Who's idea was it to think James Bond was a really a good fit with the Cars universe?  

The first comments from my 7 and 9 year olds mouths were "that was weird".  My 7 year old wanted to know why they put guns on Tow-Mater, when he's a tow truck, he's supposed to help people.  My 9 year old was frustrated that they kept cutting away from the race scenes, that he was interested in, to focus on spies and secret agents and 'action' scenes.  

I've watched Cars and listened to Cars playing on the DVD player in the van about a thousand times, and I still sometimes get misty when Lightning stops, loses the race, and goes back to get the King.  It's a movie with a moral center and a good message.  It may be simplistic in many ways, but it's got emotions, some genuine laughs, and a heart.  I think I laughed once in Cars 2, and at no point was I in any remote way moved by anything going on on-screen.  Cars 2 is the first Pixar movie that just seems to be about money, and the first Pixar movie I won't be buying on DVD.

Now, see, everything you describe is what made Cars 2 look interesting to me (on paper, anyway).  I thought the world of spies was a great way to avoid a story rehash and add some excitement to an otherwise drab scenario.  To me it seemed a perfect fit.  I didn't find the racing stuff interesting at all in the first movie.  It was only when they started really getting into the meat of the death of old time Americana that it started getting interesting, IMO.

I'm not saying I wanted a Micheal Bay dumbed down experience, but a Pixar movie with that level of excitement could be really great.

That's fine - but are you the target demographic, little boys (and girls) who are excited by animated race cars?

Could Pixar do a great spy movie?  Probably.  But why take a franchise about 'cute' race cars aimed at little kids (Cars skews youngest of all the Pixar movies, in my opinion) and try to shoe horn it in there?  If you want to make a spy movie, then do - just don't call it Cars 2 and then make it not about racing or Americana at all.  I don't hate James Bond - I just think it was a bizarre combination, and considering their audience for this film, a very poor decision.  I can't tell you how many two and three year olds we saw in that theatre with us.  I'm sure they had no idea what was going on.

[Razgon]

People take two year old children to the movies?? Thats pretty crazy in itself

[godhugh]

People take two year old children to the movies?? Thats pretty crazy in itself

Why? My two year old is perfectly capable of going and sitting through a movie. She went to Tangled when she was 22 months old and did great and is looking forward to the new Winnie the Pooh movie.

[Bullwinkle]

Biggest problem with Cars 2 is that Pixar took a franchise that appeals to 4 - 10 year olds and added cars with guns, cars with missile launchers, cars with tasers, beloved character cars with bombs strapped to them.  Explosions!  It's like Michael Bay consulted on the movie.  Cars are frequently given orders to kill other cars.  A car is 'tortured' prior to being 'killed'.  It's completely jarring, and so completely, totally off tune from the first Cars movie.  WTF, Pixar?  My family and I love your movies because they're child-like and innocent.  Who's idea was it to think James Bond was a really a good fit with the Cars universe?  

The first comments from my 7 and 9 year olds mouths were "that was weird".  My 7 year old wanted to know why they put guns on Tow-Mater, when he's a tow truck, he's supposed to help people.  My 9 year old was frustrated that they kept cutting away from the race scenes, that he was interested in, to focus on spies and secret agents and 'action' scenes.  

I've watched Cars and listened to Cars playing on the DVD player in the van about a thousand times, and I still sometimes get misty when Lightning stops, loses the race, and goes back to get the King.  It's a movie with a moral center and a good message.  It may be simplistic in many ways, but it's got emotions, some genuine laughs, and a heart.  I think I laughed once in Cars 2, and at no point was I in any remote way moved by anything going on on-screen.  Cars 2 is the first Pixar movie that just seems to be about money, and the first Pixar movie I won't be buying on DVD.

Now, see, everything you describe is what made Cars 2 look interesting to me (on paper, anyway).  I thought the world of spies was a great way to avoid a story rehash and add some excitement to an otherwise drab scenario.  To me it seemed a perfect fit.  I didn't find the racing stuff interesting at all in the first movie.  It was only when they started really getting into the meat of the death of old time Americana that it started getting interesting, IMO.

I'm not saying I wanted a Micheal Bay dumbed down experience, but a Pixar movie with that level of excitement could be really great.

That's fine - but are you the target demographic, little boys (and girls) who are excited by animated race cars?

Could Pixar do a great spy movie?  Probably.  But why take a franchise about 'cute' race cars aimed at little kids (Cars skews youngest of all the Pixar movies, in my opinion) and try to shoe horn it in there?  If you want to make a spy movie, then do - just don't call it Cars 2 and then make it not about racing or Americana at all.  I don't hate James Bond - I just think it was a bizarre combination, and considering their audience for this film, a very poor decision.  I can't tell you how many two and three year olds we saw in that theatre with us.  I'm sure they had no idea what was going on.

I don't think I am the target demo.  I think the target demo is the kids who saw Cars in 2005 and are now 5 years older.  You know what those kids like?  Spies and explosions.  And not just the boys.  My daughter has an ongoing spy thing that is only overpowered by her wizard fixation between Hermione and Alex Russo (sadly, mermaids have been left in the wet dust).  She had next to no interest in the original, but even though I've told her that the sequel isn't getting great reviews, she's still excited to go.

I also think that younger kids enjoy the excitement involved with spies, especially if their older sibling is coming along.

As far as leaving racing and Americana behind, there were a lot kids who didn't care for the racing element (again, see my daughter), so leaving the track is a good idea.  Where can cars race around but not be going in circles?  Hey, don't spies have cool cars?  Yes.  Yes, they do.  And this is a new movie.  Just as Toy Story 2 and 3 are not about avoiding the neighborhood bully and learning to love all toys (people), Cars 2 is trying not to do a rehash.

I'm sorry you and your kids didn't like it.  I'm sorrier that they seem to not have pulled it off, but I'm not sorry they tried this angle.

Honestly, I see this as a very smart move on their part, and I'm sad it seems it didn't come together.

[Razgon]

People take two year old children to the movies?? Thats pretty crazy in itself

Why? My two year old is perfectly capable of going and sitting through a movie. She went to Tangled when she was 22 months old and did great and is looking forward to the new Winnie the Pooh movie.

The cinemas are a powerful media, even more so for children who doesn't yet have the required mental experience to properly order the input.

I'd be worried about what the experience could do to a child at that age, especially for a movie with the violence this one seems to have from the descriptions.

I'm by no means an expert, I just have two kids and wouldn't do it myself.

That said, all kids and parent do things differently, but I must admit, I have never seen anyone take that young children to the movies.

[Purge]

Back on track:

Cars 2 wasn't a horrid film by any stretch of the imagination. I grow tired of the expectation that somehow Pixar is some higher watermark for animated film - I can't watch A Bug's Life again - it's just so... boring. Blah, Blah, Kurosawa, Blah, it doesn't matter.

The only thing I didn't enjoy about Cars 2 is the amount of death in the movie, and the guns, bullets and rockets. They aren't out of place in a full-on spy flick, but I wouldn't condemn the film or the filmmakers as being something worthy of walking out on.

It simply wasn't the best they've produced.

[CeeKay]

The only thing I didn't enjoy about Cars 2 is the amount of death in the movie, and the guns, bullets and rockets.

* CeeKay quietly adds Cars 2 to his Netflix queue.

[Rowdy]

People take two year old children to the movies?? Thats pretty crazy in itself

Why? My two year old is perfectly capable of going and sitting through a movie. She went to Tangled when she was 22 months old and did great and is looking forward to the new Winnie the Pooh movie.

I hear the next Winnie the Pooh movie is a bank heist movie.  Winnie plays the ringleader.  Disney wants to go in a new direction with the characters, since the kids that loved Winnie the Pooh are now much older.   

[Rowdy]

Biggest problem with Cars 2 is that Pixar took a franchise that appeals to 4 - 10 year olds and added cars with guns, cars with missile launchers, cars with tasers, beloved character cars with bombs strapped to them.  Explosions!  It's like Michael Bay consulted on the movie.  Cars are frequently given orders to kill other cars.  A car is 'tortured' prior to being 'killed'.  It's completely jarring, and so completely, totally off tune from the first Cars movie.  WTF, Pixar?  My family and I love your movies because they're child-like and innocent.  Who's idea was it to think James Bond was a really a good fit with the Cars universe?  

The first comments from my 7 and 9 year olds mouths were "that was weird".  My 7 year old wanted to know why they put guns on Tow-Mater, when he's a tow truck, he's supposed to help people.  My 9 year old was frustrated that they kept cutting away from the race scenes, that he was interested in, to focus on spies and secret agents and 'action' scenes.  

I've watched Cars and listened to Cars playing on the DVD player in the van about a thousand times, and I still sometimes get misty when Lightning stops, loses the race, and goes back to get the King.  It's a movie with a moral center and a good message.  It may be simplistic in many ways, but it's got emotions, some genuine laughs, and a heart.  I think I laughed once in Cars 2, and at no point was I in any remote way moved by anything going on on-screen.  Cars 2 is the first Pixar movie that just seems to be about money, and the first Pixar movie I won't be buying on DVD.

Now, see, everything you describe is what made Cars 2 look interesting to me (on paper, anyway).  I thought the world of spies was a great way to avoid a story rehash and add some excitement to an otherwise drab scenario.  To me it seemed a perfect fit.  I didn't find the racing stuff interesting at all in the first movie.  It was only when they started really getting into the meat of the death of old time Americana that it started getting interesting, IMO.

I'm not saying I wanted a Micheal Bay dumbed down experience, but a Pixar movie with that level of excitement could be really great.

That's fine - but are you the target demographic, little boys (and girls) who are excited by animated race cars?

Could Pixar do a great spy movie?  Probably.  But why take a franchise about 'cute' race cars aimed at little kids (Cars skews youngest of all the Pixar movies, in my opinion) and try to shoe horn it in there?  If you want to make a spy movie, then do - just don't call it Cars 2 and then make it not about racing or Americana at all.  I don't hate James Bond - I just think it was a bizarre combination, and considering their audience for this film, a very poor decision.  I can't tell you how many two and three year olds we saw in that theatre with us.  I'm sure they had no idea what was going on.

I don't think I am the target demo.  I think the target demo is the kids who saw Cars in 2005 and are now 5 years older.  You know what those kids like?  Spies and explosions.  And not just the boys.  My daughter has an ongoing spy thing that is only overpowered by her wizard fixation between Hermione and Alex Russo (sadly, mermaids have been left in the wet dust).  She had next to no interest in the original, but even though I've told her that the sequel isn't getting great reviews, she's still excited to go.

I also think that younger kids enjoy the excitement involved with spies, especially if their older sibling is coming along.

As far as leaving racing and Americana behind, there were a lot kids who didn't care for the racing element (again, see my daughter), so leaving the track is a good idea.  Where can cars race around but not be going in circles?  Hey, don't spies have cool cars?  Yes.  Yes, they do.  And this is a new movie.  Just as Toy Story 2 and 3 are not about avoiding the neighborhood bully and learning to love all toys (people), Cars 2 is trying not to do a rehash.

I'm sorry you and your kids didn't like it.  I'm sorrier that they seem to not have pulled it off, but I'm not sorry they tried this angle.

Honestly, I see this as a very smart move on their part, and I'm sad it seems it didn't come together.

So, you keep talking about how people that didn't care for the original movie would like the change - why call it Cars 2 then?  Why not make a new Pixar film about spies and explosions and car chases that your daughter and all the kids that are now too old for the first Cars apparently can go see?  Why fool all the kids and parents who DID like the first Cars movie, by making a sequel that's completely different in tone, setting and content?  The only reason you call this movie Cars 2 is for a cash grab - make sure you get all the fans of the first one.

[Bullwinkle]

Back on track:

Cars 2 wasn't a horrid film by any stretch of the imagination. I grow tired of the expectation that somehow Pixar is some higher watermark for animated film - I can't watch A Bug's Life again - it's just so... boring. Blah, Blah, Kurosawa, Blah, it doesn't matter.

The only thing I didn't enjoy about Cars 2 is the amount of death in the movie, and the guns, bullets and rockets. They aren't out of place in a full-on spy flick, but I wouldn't condemn the film or the filmmakers as being something worthy of walking out on.

It simply wasn't the best they've produced.

I do think Pixar should be held to a higher standard.  I finally saw Cars 2, and if it hadn't been a Pixar film, it would have been okay.  Say, a B or B-.  However, I do expect more from Pixar, so that knocks it down a peg.  I wasn't offended by it or anything (well, my comedy sensibilities were a little put off by Mater a few times - he grew a little irritating), but I wasn't over the moon, for sure.

Biggest problem with Cars 2 is that Pixar took a franchise that appeals to 4 - 10 year olds and added cars with guns, cars with missile launchers, cars with tasers, beloved character cars with bombs strapped to them.  Explosions!  It's like Michael Bay consulted on the movie.  Cars are frequently given orders to kill other cars.  A car is 'tortured' prior to being 'killed'.  It's completely jarring, and so completely, totally off tune from the first Cars movie.  WTF, Pixar?  My family and I love your movies because they're child-like and innocent.  Who's idea was it to think James Bond was a really a good fit with the Cars universe? 

The first comments from my 7 and 9 year olds mouths were "that was weird".  My 7 year old wanted to know why they put guns on Tow-Mater, when he's a tow truck, he's supposed to help people.  My 9 year old was frustrated that they kept cutting away from the race scenes, that he was interested in, to focus on spies and secret agents and 'action' scenes. 

I've watched Cars and listened to Cars playing on the DVD player in the van about a thousand times, and I still sometimes get misty when Lightning stops, loses the race, and goes back to get the King.  It's a movie with a moral center and a good message.  It may be simplistic in many ways, but it's got emotions, some genuine laughs, and a heart.  I think I laughed once in Cars 2, and at no point was I in any remote way moved by anything going on on-screen.  Cars 2 is the first Pixar movie that just seems to be about money, and the first Pixar movie I won't be buying on DVD.

Now, see, everything you describe is what made Cars 2 look interesting to me (on paper, anyway).  I thought the world of spies was a great way to avoid a story rehash and add some excitement to an otherwise drab scenario.  To me it seemed a perfect fit.  I didn't find the racing stuff interesting at all in the first movie.  It was only when they started really getting into the meat of the death of old time Americana that it started getting interesting, IMO.

I'm not saying I wanted a Micheal Bay dumbed down experience, but a Pixar movie with that level of excitement could be really great.

That's fine - but are you the target demographic, little boys (and girls) who are excited by animated race cars?

Could Pixar do a great spy movie?  Probably.  But why take a franchise about 'cute' race cars aimed at little kids (Cars skews youngest of all the Pixar movies, in my opinion) and try to shoe horn it in there?  If you want to make a spy movie, then do - just don't call it Cars 2 and then make it not about racing or Americana at all.  I don't hate James Bond - I just think it was a bizarre combination, and considering their audience for this film, a very poor decision.  I can't tell you how many two and three year olds we saw in that theatre with us.  I'm sure they had no idea what was going on.

I don't think I am the target demo.  I think the target demo is the kids who saw Cars in 2005 and are now 5 years older.  You know what those kids like?  Spies and explosions.  And not just the boys.  My daughter has an ongoing spy thing that is only overpowered by her wizard fixation between Hermione and Alex Russo (sadly, mermaids have been left in the wet dust).  She had next to no interest in the original, but even though I've told her that the sequel isn't getting great reviews, she's still excited to go.

I also think that younger kids enjoy the excitement involved with spies, especially if their older sibling is coming along.

As far as leaving racing and Americana behind, there were a lot kids who didn't care for the racing element (again, see my daughter), so leaving the track is a good idea.  Where can cars race around but not be going in circles?  Hey, don't spies have cool cars?  Yes.  Yes, they do.  And this is a new movie.  Just as Toy Story 2 and 3 are not about avoiding the neighborhood bully and learning to love all toys (people), Cars 2 is trying not to do a rehash.

I'm sorry you and your kids didn't like it.  I'm sorrier that they seem to not have pulled it off, but I'm not sorry they tried this angle.

Honestly, I see this as a very smart move on their part, and I'm sad it seems it didn't come together.

So, you keep talking about how people that didn't care for the original movie would like the change - why call it Cars 2 then?  Why not make a new Pixar film about spies and explosions and car chases that your daughter and all the kids that are now too old for the first Cars apparently can go see?  Why fool all the kids and parents who DID like the first Cars movie, by making a sequel that's completely different in tone, setting and content?  The only reason you call this movie Cars 2 is for a cash grab - make sure you get all the fans of the first one.

My daughter didn't love Cars, but gazillions of other kids did.  And they're the ones who are older, and might find a retread to be a little too kiddie for them now.  This new one (on paper) builds on the original and adds a cool layer to it.  There still is racing in this film, by the way.  I don't know why that gets ignored.  There's just an extra layer of spy action on top of it.  As I've said before, cool cars are a big part of spy movies, so it makes sense as a way to make the Cars universe grow.

And they weren't fooling anybody, BTW.  The advertising has been very clear showing exactly what this movie was going to be.

[wonderpug]

So is this worth renting for two adults who are generally big Pixar fans and thought Cars 1 was kind of ok?

[leo8877]

So is this worth renting for two adults who are generally big Pixar fans and thought Cars 1 was kind of ok?

This was a featured movie on a flight I was on recently.  I am also a big fan of Pixar movies (although I didn't like the first Cars).  I got bored with this after about 30 mins and went back to my phone for games.  Cars just seems to be focus on kids a little too much.

[Rowdy]

So is this worth renting for two adults who are generally big Pixar fans and thought Cars 1 was kind of ok?

Might be worth a rental, particularly for adult Pixar fans, moreso than children Pixar fans.  Pixar animation is still very good - although the story in this one is weak, even compared to the original Cars which is considered by many to be Pixars lower tier.  I wouldn't show it to any huge Cars 1 fans though, since it's so different in tone and content.

[CeeKay]

OK, so I despised the first Cars, but after hearing about the second's change in tone I decided to get it from Netflix, and I have to say I enjoyed it quite a bit.  it was a fun popcorn flick.

[disarm]

I finally saw Cars 2 a couple weeks ago.  This was the first Pixar movie that I hadn't seen in a theater in a very long time, but I bought the 3D bluray to keep my Pixar collection complete.  While I do think that's it's one of their weakest films primariliy because it lacks the emotion that really makes so many of their other works shine, I really don't understand all the hatred.  They chose to make a spy movie using the Cars cast to broaden the scope of the franchise, and I think it worked pretty well.  It may not have the depth of their other films, but I found Cars 2 to be very entertaining and still enjoyed it more than a lot of the other crap that's been released over the last year.  I think we've all just gotten used to such great things from Pixar that we forget that even something not up to their usual standards is still better than most of what's available.  To each his own though...